Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tops iPhone Games of the Week

This week, Capcom brought another of its major console and arcade fighting titles to the mobile world with Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Much loved by old-school fighting game fans, the game should find a loyal following on iOS, especially since it has received a solid port. As long as you don’t mind touch controls, there’s […]

This week, Capcom brought another of its major console and arcade fighting titles to the mobile world with Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Much loved by old-school fighting game fans, the game should find a loyal following on iOS, especially since it has received a solid port. As long as you don’t mind touch controls, there’s a lot of crazy fighting game fun to be had. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 kicks off this week’s top games, with four more contenders that you should really check out this weekend.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (iPhone, iPad) $2.99

A cult classic and fan favorite among fighting game enthusiasts, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 brings an iOS flare to the title. Fans of games such as Super Street Fighter IV will find a lot to love in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, as will fans of the arcade original and Dreamcast and Xbox LIVE ports. Capcom has reworked the controls to give even novice players the ability to stay competitive, adding swipe actions to trigger special moves and switch between characters in big team-based tag-team fights. It’s not quite as robust or full-fledged as, say, the various console versions of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, but for a quick mobile fix with Bluetooth multiplayer, it’s a very solid port.

Cubis Creatures (iPhone, iPad) $0.99

Cubis Creatures takes the match-three archetype – putting together three adjacent objects of the same type to “match” them and make them disappear to score points – and adds a third dimension, allowing players to stack their cubes as well as match them in columns and rows. That means Cubis’ levels require a different kind of thinking and planning than other match-three titles, and the added dimension is an effective way to make the game feel fresh in a crowded genre. Cubis Creatures also has a great graphical style that helps it be a little something more than most titles of its ilk.

Sid Meier’s Pirates! (iPhone, iPad) $2.99

The classic adventure title, Sid Meier’s Pirates!, has been remade plenty of times and seen a huge number of platforms in its day. It previously was only available on the iPad, but has now migrated to the iPhone to allow a whole new group of players the chance at swashbuckling adventure. You get to take on the role of a pirate and take command of one of a large number of ships, as well as engage in sword fights and do other pirate-type stuff as you work to save your family. Players have been raving about Pirates! for years, so do yourself a favor and give it a go.

Spellsword (iPhone, iPad) $0.99

Arcade action title Spellsword is about moving fast and staying alive, and that’s a formula that has worked well in plenty of games for decades. You play a hero wielding the titular sword, which you can power up by grabbing special “spell cards” that appear around the level over time. These cards are key to your survival, because they fire off powerful attacks to help fight back the waves of enemies that are constantly bearing down on you. They also turn your sword into a fiery blade, a freezing cudgel, a poison emitter and more. Spellsword’s frantic, bite-size action and survival-based gameplay make it addictive, and it has a wry sense of video game humor as well.

Escape from Age of Monsters (iPhone, iPad) $0.99

There’s not too much that’s new about Escape from Age of Monsters. The side-scrolling running title is a competent entry into a genre that has quite a few members, and it tests players ability to react quickly by requiring them to punch down walls with the correct, corresponding attack to get through them. Where the game really excels is in its soundtrack and art style, both of which are of high quality. Escape from Age of Monsters is a solid way to burn a few minutes of waiting and it looks and sounds great, so you won’t feel bad about spending the time.

Phil Hornshaw is a freelance writer, editor and author living in Los Angeles, dividing his time between playing video games, playing video games on his cell phone, and writing about playing video games. He’s also the co-author of So You Created a Wormhole: The Time Traveler’s Guide to Time Travel, which attempts to mix time travel pop culture with some semblance of science, as well as tips on the appropriate means of riding dinosaurs. Check out his Google+ profile.